Every day People straighten up the hair, why not the heart?
The guerrilla band is not to be considered inferior to the army against which it fights simply because it is inferior in fire power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Strength and determination can outweigh conventional power in conflict.
This quote highlights the notion that numerical or technological superiority in a conflict does not necessarily determine the outcome. Guerrilla fighters, although lacking advanced weaponry, possess resilience, strategic thinking, and a deep commitment to their cause, which can enable them to effectively challenge a more powerful opponent. Che Guevara emphasizes the importance of spirit and tactics in warfare, suggesting that courage and determination can level the playing field against conventional military forces.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on the importance of determination in the face of adversity.
More from Che Guevara
All quotes βIt is a revolution that came to power with its own army and on the ruins of the army of oppression.
The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of Africa, Asia and Latin America rise to meet a new life and demand their unrestricted right to self-determination.
We must carry the war into every corner the enemy happens to carry it, to his home, to his centers of entertainment: a total war. It is necessary to prevent him from having a moment of peace, a quiet moment outside his barracks or even inside; we must attack him wherever he may be, make him feel like a cornered beast wherever he may move. Then his moral fiber shall begin to decline, but we shall notice how the signs of decadence begin to disappear.
This is not a story of heroic feats, or merely the narrative of a cynic; at least I do not mean it to be. It is a glimpse of two lives running parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams.
The desire to sacrifice an entire lifetime to the noblest of ideals serves no purpose if one works alone.
Similar quotes
Every hero must have the courage to be alone, to take the journey for himself.
My friends were dropping like flies, and the government wasn't doing anything. You don't watch an entire generation take water hoses and dogs on the front line during the '60s or watch another generation perish from AIDS and then get to drive around in big cars and do nothing.
Your hearts are mighty, your skins are whole.
Men often bear little grievances with less courage than they do large misfortunes.
Jesus wept, but He never complained.
Return to your friends and tell them that we came here with no peaceful intent, but ready for battle, and determined to avenge our own wrongs and set our country free. Let your masters come and attack us: we are ready to meet them beard to beard.